This is the True Grace of God, Stand Firm in It

May 27 th, 2012 (217-13) This is the True Grace of God, Stand Firm in It 1 Peter 3:13-17 Hope on Display in the Hard Stuff of Life

Open with me to 1 Peter 3:13 as we keep striving together to get our hearts and minds around our true Christlike calling to live humbly as He did on the path that goes from suffering to glory. Life is a growth process where taking on our true identity in Christ means there is a way to think and act and live that has been paved for us now for 2000 years. It was formed at the cross. It is To this you have been called To a life that is empowered and patterned after Christ alone. And this calling, Peter says (3:8), is for All of you who have truly been born again to a living hope. It s the entire church in every relationship living with (5 way gospel filter) unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender hearts, and humble minds. It s your character. It s who you are. It s what Christ made you to be. And the point is that this creates an absolutely necessary environment for a community of people exiled together in a foreign land heading ultimately to their true home eternity in heaven with Christ! Along the way, as we travel it can be a hard life and tensions are high and the church is forced to anchor its heart on something more powerful than ourselves. And that is what the gospel creates in and through us. And Peter knows, both - directed by the Spirit of God AND experientially just how hard this calling is going to be every step of the way. That s why He writes so much about HOPE. But it s also why he comes back again and again to the gospel heart motives for suffering well. For those who are following the same path as Christ The path that goes from suffering to glory. Peter has just made it clear through a quote from Psalm 34, that God has always been against those who do evil and His eyes and ears are toward the righteous. It s an amazing picture of His favor His grace on us. And now in light of that confidence (in 3:13), he asks a petty good question and it s meant to encourage our hearts further toward HOPE as Christians suffer for the sake of righteousness. Remember, Peter s goal is to exhort Christians to stand firm in the true grace of God. And with this rhetorical question, he brings us right back there again and leads us into Verses 13-17 1. Hope on display through the hard stuff of life Do you want true Hope on display through the hard stuff of life? I sure do! I don t know what s coming my way (sometimes I m afraid of what it might be) but I know one thing I want to be ready at every moment to exalt CHRIST (I want to be found ALREADY exalting Christ) no matter who or what is hitting me square in the face Read v. 13-17 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God s will, than for doing evil. 2

So, how might we describe this gospel hope that will be on display through the hard stuff of life? Let s explore three observations together FIRST, This hope starts with real confidence (unshakeable confidence) in the promises of God. In the big scheme, what is the answer to the question in verse 13? NO ONE! Remember where we left off last week Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. If you are zealous for the things God is bringing about, then He has His ear toward you and His eye on you. If you are surrendered to what the Creator of all that exists wants there is NO ONE to fear! The kind of goodness that he s talking about is the kind that can ONLY be created by the gospel IN you. This kind of goodness (in the face of suffering and reviling and slandering) When you BLESS others in those circumstances, it can only mean one thing: You must belong to Christ. And if you do, there is NO ONE who can (permanently or ultimately) harm you. You said permanently or ultimately. You were pretty specific on that. So what about temporarily or immediately? Peter answers 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled (Possibly Isaiah 8:12-13 See also Matthew 10:28) The reality of temporary or immediate harm was pretty high for these 1 st century Christians. As they stood firmly and boldly for the sake of righteousness, it might have even cost them their lives. On a human level, that s pretty fearful and troubling. But in the end, even if the world does its very worst, there is eternal blessing through your inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you. This isn t cliché Hey hold on for heaven it ll all be good some day! This is real hope promised by God and it continually changes your perspective each step through life today. I ve noticed a pattern in my kids over the years especially when they re younger. When they ask for something like Hey dad can I have a brownie after dinner or Can come over this weekend Can we play a game tonight? And so often, because I want to wait on an answer, as parents we ll say Not yes or no but what? Maybe. We ll see. And typically I ve noticed that a maybe answer turns into a YES in their minds pretty quickly. It s their positive outlook in life as kids (Luke: YES! He said maybe. ) In their minds it becomes almost a guarantee that what they asked for would happen. I think that s a little bit like what our hearts can be doing with the eternal hope that we have from God through Christ. Hear what God says and take it as a guarantee. 3

Difference is, with respect to this hope God never says, Maybe. hope that gives you new birth through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says This is LIVING He says By MY POWER you are being guarded through faith for a salvation READY to be revealed in the last time. He says You were ransomed not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. He says You have been born again not of perishable seed but imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. This hope on earth Hope on display through the hard stuff of life It starts with real confidence in the promises of God. So are you anchoring your heart on them? Are you in the word recounting what God has said to you about your eternal hope? Are you in the habit of telling God daily how thankful you are that that truly IS nothing and no one to fear. And when you DO fear, are you learning to quiet your heart under His truth and release it to Him? My wife and a couple other women are memorizing the book of 1 Peter together. The whole book! They re not more spiritual because of this. They re desperate to have God s truth seated DEEP in their hearts so that it continues to do its work to build unshakeable confidence in the God who loves them. Has He not proven that He is worthy of unshakeable confidence? So, the key is to keep elevating the promises and perspective of Jesus in your life. Don t fear or be troubled v. 15 - Peter goes on Notice second This hope grows from a true heart of worship. Don t fear don t be troubled 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy Through all the suffering and injustice you might face you are called to respond with blessing (this has been our theme!). Like Christ, you don t revile in response, you don t return evil for evil. And the only way for that to truly happen is when the desires of Christ (what HE wants and what HE is working on in you) are more important than what anyone else thinks in the world around you. When your heart honors Christ as holy set apart higher than any other priority! This is the heart of worship and EVERYTHING flows out of it honor to Christ love for Christ 1 Peter 1:8 - Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 4

This is how hope gets put on display through the hard stuff of life. WORSHIP! This is when people start to ask, How do you do that? How do stay calm when that is happening to you? There s something different in the way you respond to people and to life. How is that possible? And because you are living a life of worship to Him (caught up in the flow) - you re always ready to answer to make a defense for the hope that is in you. It is to be prepared to make a reasonable statement of explanation of WHY you hope and HOW you hope. So you and I, of course, need to be students of God s grace. We need to know the hope of the gospel how to speak it clearly in summary and then in greater detail as God gives the opportunity. Study the truth, learn the truth, know the truth! Making a defense is what we call apologetics In fact this is the very word it comes from It is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of information. Some people love the argument and are gifted at proving a point and defending the faith. But it s also interesting HERE in this context that apologetics is WORSHIP. It is the product of a heart that honors Christ the Lord as Holy. It flows out of a life that is LIFTING UP the Lord Jesus Christ! So that when you are asked (or even when you are not), you are saying things like I just want my life to honor my Lord. That s it! And He says that He died to bring me to God and raised again to conquer death and give me life and I know with all my heart that ultimately and permanently I am His and I am always headed WITH Him from suffering to glory. You ve just declared the gospel of Jesus Christ, communicated its direct relevance to your life, and spoken the eternal promises of God that give you hope in life. And you ve done it all as (a worshipper) one who is honoring Christ the Lord as Holy. The life that honors Christ through the hard stuff of life is the greatest apologetic we have. A life sustained and encouraged by eternity when your circumstances today (by all rights) should be destroying your life That s the best proof you can declare that God s promises are real and they give HOPE! The guarantee of eternity with Him. In this way you and I are doing what we were chosen by God to do 1 Peter 2:9 proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Peter builds on the heart of the matter further. The defense you are making is not about how good you are at making your point or winning the argument. It s about communicating the heart and character of Christ to people who don t yet HAVE this hope! So Peter reminds us This hope spreads through Christlike character. (gentleness, respect, good conscience v. 15-16) 5

Enjoy rock solid confidence in God! Live a life or worship! Make your defense! Proclaim real hope in Christ But do it all (Peter says) with gentleness and respect Gentleness or meekness here means you are not pushy or in their face but trusting that the Lord is at work better than you. Remember the quiet and gentle: spirit of a wife up in 3:4 that has the potential of melting the hard heart of a husband and winning him over? Same idea here! Be bold and faithful with the word about Christ but gentle in character trusting that God is the best ONE to convince people of the hope that He offers. You are completely freed up from that responsibility. You are just the joyful worshipper of Christ who has been made right with God and is living out HIS goodness in you. Your LIFE is consistent with the hope that you are talking about so you have a good conscience. You re off and running living for Jesus, proclaiming His goodness, exalting His great Name and there s nothing holding you back (weighing you down) because you re living with gospel integrity! You can maintain the character of Christ in you (GOD does it) so that it s always about Him and never about you. In this way, the critics of Christianity the hope that is in you will be put to shame. We ve seen this before - When they speak against you or wrongly accuse you (2:12) they ll see your good deeds and glorify God. 2:15 By doing good you ll put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Peter has already said when you suffer for good it is a gracious thing in the eyes of God (2:20). God will bless you for it because it s exactly like His Son. It s Christlike character! See, there is suffering in this life (v. 17) that is simply the result of our own wrong choices even (at times) choices that can be considered evil. Make sure you don t confuse that with the difficulty that you and I face because we follow Christ in a sinful world (on our way to our true home). When someone suffers for doing evil, that s just the normal course of things do evil and it usually doesn t turn out all that good for you. 15 let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. Suffering for righteousness sake suffering as a true Christian (BECAUSE you are Christian in an UNChristian world) is whole different story. It brings the blessing of God. And as you head out into the world for another week of walking with Him, worshipping Him, and bearing witness to Him He s got all the bases covered perfectly! He has placed His promises BEFORE you, put a heart of worship IN you, and has you here to spread the hope of salvation THROUGH you. Will you declare His excellencies? Will you boldly give a reason for the hope that is in You? But with gentleness and respect CHRIST S powerful message with Christ s humble character! 6

Who are you praying for who needs to hear? Everyone in this room has a life that intersects with people who are hopeless, hurting, and desperately in need of the gospel. Aren t you thankful God didn t make this complicated? Sometimes we do But He just tells us Trust in Me, hear My promises, honor Christ the Lord as Holy, live a life of worship out in your world, and (what?) BE READY. I ll put the people in your life who need to hear of the hope you have and I ll transform their lives just like I did yours! We re not done yet (If I can just prime the pump for next week) Peter finishes the chapter with the only kind of hope that will truly produce this victorious gospel outcome. It s back to the glory of Christ again! Hope on display through the hard stuff of life IS Verses 18-22 2. Hope anchored in the Person and Work of Christ. He alone is the One who was able to restore our relationship with God. He alone is the One who can cleanse and give new life through His resurrection. He alone is the One who cut the pathway for us from suffering to glory. It's like he is saying again in a very unique way, "Consider who it is who suffered for your sake. Just skimming down through v. 18-22 You can see This is the One who died to bring you to God! This is the One who can die and at the same time go to the spirits in prison and preach. (still trying to understand that next week) This is the One who brought to pass all that the flood and Noah's 'salvation' symbolized (the redemption of God s people [YOUR redemption] in the midst of a world under judgment). This is the One who is now exalted and seated at the right hand with angels and authorities and powers subject to Him. Where the heavenly hosts say Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty and Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and HONOR and glory and blessing! THIS Christ...He is the One who chose to suffer it all for your forgiveness and mine." So, you can see we have a lot to consider next Sunday. Would you pray that God would make this last time in 1 Peter 3 the last in our series to this you have been called A time where He bring us all to new heights of honoring Christ the Lord as Holy in each one of our hearts. 7

It s all about Him and that s what the end of chapter 3 is about. It s more of HIS credentials. More of the reasons we have to fully honor Him and worship Him and surrender to Him. More about Jesus that makes our hearts stand in awe and love Him that much more. And that s my hope and prayer for the heart of Crossway Pray with me. 8